Beginning to wind down…The saga continues…More favorite photos…

As it turned out, last night, I realized this wouldn’t be possible as the pain continued. Twice, since Saturday, I’ve canceled reservations to go out to dinner when it became impossible in my current state.  

A massive bull elephant in Kruger.

Instead, today at 1630 hours (4:30 pm), Uschi and Evan will stop by for a visit. I wish I could whip up some appetizers for their holiday, but doing so would require standing on my feet, and I’m not ready to do so.  

Also, we’d gone shopping for a few essential items before we knew they were coming, and since we’re using up our current food supply, we don’t have anything tasty on hand to offer guests without getting involved in a big cooking ordeal.

A large rhino in Kruger.

Disappointed once again, we let them know that going out to dinner wasn’t possible at this point. However, we wanted to see them once more as we wind down our remaining 10 days in Marloth Park.

I’ve yet to start packing and will probably wait to do so until next week. After living in this house for almost 15 months, the drawers and cupboards are filled with items we need to consider for packing or donating.  

Vultures are on the lookout for their next meal.

The kitchen cabinets are packed with spices, condiments, and various household products, none of which we’ll be able to fit into our luggage. The bedroom’s dressers, wardrobe, and surfaces are all filled and covered with our “stuff.”  

Then, of course, is the bathroom which contains a myriad of toiletries, soaps, and shampoos. During each stay in a holiday home, I attempt to avoid duplicating items we already have on hand.

A parade of elephants crossing a dirt road in Kruger.

But, you know how that goes. While at the market or pharmacy, it’s easy to forget what we have on hand back at the house, and suddenly we have three bottles of conditioner when we only need one.

In the past few days, I’ve managed to enter all of the receipts to our Excel spreadsheet and file and submit both health insurance claims to our difficult-to-deal-with health insurance company who’s still hedging on paying the outstanding balance owed for the bypass surgery of over two months ago.

Cautiously, making their way across the road.

We are responsible for this balance should they fail to pay, which is almost ZAR 300000, US $20,964.  If we spend it now, we’ll play hell in trying to collect this from them. In the same manner, they will be unlikely to reimburse us for the two claims over ZAR 200000, US $13,976.  

At this point is conceivable we could end up having paid ZAR 500000, US $35,000 for my surgery, which should have been covered less ZAR 86181, US $6,000 for three deductibles, one for each of three hospital admissions which includes the angiogram, bypass surgery, and two leg surgeries. Sorting this could drag on for some time.

Intimidation mouthful of razor-sharp teeth.

Crocs don’t have sweat glands and open their mouths at rest to cool off.

Mom and baby wildebeest in Kruger.

We encountered this flock of ostriches on a recent drive in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.